Thread: Levelling the lathe

Drive some small wooden wedges under the feet t get it level, then mix up a tlie grout mix and work that under each foot. Don't forget to remove the wedges and fill the voids too.
Jim

Had (have) the same problem with my lathe.

One layer of rubber waffle mat at the uphill end, two on the downhill.

She only rocks with a decent lump at a given RPM though.

So when you say 'when I'm pushing it', what/when?

Rubber mat has this downside.

If it's just at one rpm then you can ignore it with a bit of up or down ramp. It's just a harmonic vibe.

If it's at a broader rev range, then, off the top of the noggin, try tightening your anchors, or changing your rubber type, or replacing the rubber with softwood packing.

Shouldn't need to sit the lathe on rubber pads. Mine is sitting on the adjustable bolts on the concrete floor and it does not move unless I have it running too high for the size that I have mounted.

How thick and big are your pads? Can you sit say a 75mm or 100mm square by 6mm thick steel plate on top of them? If so drill a hole in the centre of the plates but not right through just a couple of mm so that you can screw the adjustable bolts into them so that you can level it.

Jefferson ,
How much does it rock , what thickness of shim will you need ?

A shim under the short leg should be all it needs. If it is steel direct onto concrete then I would put a hardwood pad under all the feet.

It seems DJ has the answers to all questions!

The rocking is really at the headstock end, it's maybe 4-5mm out. I thought about jamming a wedge under the low end, but have my doubts.

The idea that I use the adjustment bolts has some merit. That is, I place steel plate under the pads and adjust from there. But I would much prefer if the floor was level.

That said, the solid rubber pads under the lathe seem to have settled a little, and the rocking isn't as bad as it first was. I suspect the rubber has compressed under the 450kgs of weight. A sort of self levelling.

I haven't tested the lathe in its new position yet with anything substantial. There's a very hefty 600mm yellow box burl in waiting, but I'll probably cut it up into more manageable pieces on the bandsaw. (Unless DJ tells me otherwise!)

thanks again as always,

Jeff (novice wood turner)

IMHO the rubber pads are an invitation for vibration, the Vicmarc lathes are well built and balanced that there is no vibration or noise to transfer to the concrete in the first place.

Here is a bit approx 550mm dia Yellowbox that I trued up on mine and it didn't even look like moving.

Attachment 76973

Originally Posted by jefferson

It seems DJ has the answers to all questions!

The rocking is really at the headstock end, it's maybe 4-5mm out. I thought about jamming a wedge under the low end, but have my doubts.

The idea that I use the adjustment bolts has some merit. That is, I place steel plate under the pads and adjust from there. But I would much prefer if the floor was level.

That said, the solid rubber pads under the lathe seem to have settled a little, and the rocking isn't as bad as it first was. I suspect the rubber has compressed under the 450kgs of weight. A sort of self levelling.

I haven't tested the lathe in its new position yet with anything substantial. There's a very hefty 600mm yellow box burl in waiting, but I'll probably cut it up into more manageable pieces on the bandsaw. (Unless DJ tells me otherwise!)

thanks again as always,

Jeff (novice wood turner)

Jeff , I don't know if your lathe stand has two long feet either end or 4 small ones at each corner , but the possibility exists for chipping away the concrete at the high end , just enough to allow the stand to sit level.
The task is not as big as it may at first sound , a cold chisel , a bolster , or even a big old wood chisel , and a hammer are all that is needed.
That way , there are no shims to slip out , and you can still bolt down to the concrete.

all you have to do is jackhammer/chip out concrete where it is high,i had to do that with mine then i dynabolted mine .........bob

Originally Posted by powderpost

Drive some small wooden wedges under the feet t get it level, then mix up a tlie grout mix and work that under each foot. Don't forget to remove the wedges and fill the voids too.
Jim

All that concrete chipping sounds like hard yakka . I reckon Jim's on the right track - but how about jacking the lathe up a little and just slap a bit of grout/render under each leg so that when you lower the lathe it will just level itself out

There is a fair chance that the grout will turn to dust under the vibrating load . It is after all , just plaster , its not a structural product .
Shims are a better option , direct leg / concrete contact , the best .

I shimmed the lathe this morning with two gal plates and adjusted the bolt to suit as DJ suggested. Everything seems rock solid now but time will tell.

Thanks all for the suggestions and feedback.

Jeff

Well, this is a bit behindhand, but FWIW I solved an unven floor problem with thick waffle mat under the old VM 175 and never had harmonic vibes.

Got them with the Stubby at one rpm setting since it has a wider base fore and aft than the VM and so two thicknesses of mat were used. I'd expect that were they replaced with conveyor belt rubber pads the vibe would go.

Bit behind too. I had the same problem with my 300, Vicmarc recommend rubber dampers but I read somewhere about using lead roof flashing, worked like a charm. Quished down and now everything is stable.